And he made Tommy Lee Jones laugh. (You had to have seen this year's Golden Globes to get that one.) But after the initial monologue he kept the focus firmly on himself, even though he got help from famous friends.

William Shatner was the first big surprise. (See video below.) Dressed as Capt. Kirk from "Star Trek," Shatner appeared on a screen above MacFarlane, claiming to have come from the future to prevent MacFarlane from ruining the ceremony.

"Why couldn't they just get Tina and Amy to host the show?" Shatner asked, referring to Globes hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.

Shatner proceeded to show MacFarlane the skits and filmed bits that led him to being called the "Worst Oscars Host Ever." With this set up, MacFarlane was able to have his cake and eat it, too. He mixed crass with class for the rest of the opening.

He celebrated nudity in film with the production number "We Saw Your Boobs," then performed a lovely version of "The Way You Look Tonight" featuring dance partners Channing Tatum and Charlize Theron.

He donned a "Flying Nun" costume and hit on Sally Field, then sang an Oscars-themed version of "Be Our Guest."

The intro, which at about 17 minutes was almost as long as a "Family Guy" episode, was all over the map. It's as if he couldn't decide what opening to go with, so he went with all of them. By doing so, he was assured that something would work.

MacFarlane was hit and miss throughout the rest of the night, too, scoring when he teased Affleck and getting groans with a joke about John Wilkes Booth shooting Abrahan Lincoln. No one seemed to notice, however, when he basically called Adele fat by mentioning critic Rex Reed, who commented on Melissa McCarthy's weight in a review of her film "Identity Thief."

So was he the worst Oscars host ever? I think that might still go to James Franco and the unforturnate Anne Hathaway in 2011.

Any uncertainty that surrounded Seth MacFarlane's ability to host the biggest night in movies was put to rest quickly when he took the stage Sunday at the 85th Academy Awards in Los Angeles. Showing considerable poise, MacFarlane, a man best known as the creative force behind the Fox animated...

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